Chapter 338

Chapter 338: What a Coincidence.

Annie did not know what was happening—she had only just seen two strangers standing at the cemetery gate when the slightly hunched figure of the Old Caretaker blocked her view. The old man’s somewhat tense voice reached her ears: “Child, don’t look over there.”

The young lady grew a little nervous: “Grandpa Caretaker, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t move, don’t speak, it’s fine.” The old man spoke softly, his gaze still fixed on that burly figure. One of his hands hung at his side, blocking Annie’s restless line of sight, while the other pressed against his chest—there he wore a charm amulet that, if necessary, could trigger the alarm for the whole cemetery.

The burly figure walked toward them.

All the old man’s muscles tensed.

“Good morning.” A deep voice came from beneath those thick bandages, like an echo from a tomb. “This should be my first formal visit.”

He spoke in clear language and his manner was very friendly. Just like in their previous contact, this unspeakable Visitor showed a friendly stance.

But not a single muscle in the Old Caretaker’s body dared to relax. He had thought before that this Visitor would come again sooner or later, and he had imagined what kind of situation it might be when they spoke. Yet he had never expected the other party to appear so openly at the cemetery gate, standing across from him and greeting him like this. He also did not know whether Annie behind him would be affected by this Visitor, so he could only stand between them as much as he could and think quickly about how to respond.

The old man’s tension was plain to Duncan.

He looked even more nervous than at their first meeting—was it because of the child he was shielding behind him?

“Relax a little,” Duncan said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. “I have no hostility at all—and I certainly won’t harm the child behind you.”

“I know you are friendly, but your very existence can affect an ordinary person,” the Old Caretaker said carefully, trying his best not to offend the Visitor before him. “This child has never received any supernatural training.”

“Oh, then she is actually quite safe,” Duncan said. “She can’t see it. You should understand that as well.”

The Old Caretaker fell silent for a moment. He understood what the other meant, and he knew that Annie, as an ordinary person, should not be affected by certain supernatural powers the way he was. But he still did not relax. He only asked carefully: “What are you here for this time?”

“That lady priest is not here?” Duncan glanced with some curiosity toward the cemetery. “I have some rather important matters to tell her.”

“She just left,” the Old Caretaker said, becoming even more cautious now that the other had mentioned Agatha. “What do you want with her?”

Then he paused and added: “I can reach her at any time. The cemetery’s Warden is also clergy and can contact the Great Cathedral and the Gatekeeper directly.”

“Ah, that is good. It saves me some trouble,” Duncan said as he raised his hand and reached into his pocket. The motion clearly made the cemetery’s Warden nervous, so Duncan shook his head with a small chuckle: “Don’t be nervous. If I truly meant harm, I would not need to raise my hand.”

As he spoke, he had already taken a sealed letter from the pocket of his coat and held it out to the old man.

“Pass this to the Gatekeeper named Agatha, or send it straight to your Great Cathedral,” Duncan said casually. “It is only a message. As long as the message is delivered, it will do.”

A… letter? It was actually a letter?!

The Old Caretaker stared in shock at what the other had taken out. He accepted it without thinking, then finally came back to himself. He blinked in confusion. He had never imagined that an unspeakable visitor would descend in the flesh upon the cemetery just to hand him a letter.

He turned the envelope over for another look.

On the back, he could see the mark and number of some small local printing shop—this was not any ritual secret letter formed by supernatural power. It had been bought at a newsstand on the corner, and might well have been picked up casually that very morning.

The old man raised his head. His slightly cloudy, yellowed eyes were full of doubt and questions.

“Just making a small contribution to the safety of the city-state,” Duncan said with a smile. Sadly, his friendly expression was hidden by his bandages. Then his gaze passed over the Old Caretaker and fell on the young lady hiding behind him. “Did I scare you?”

“No.” Annie shook her head, peeking carefully through the gaps between the old man’s fingers at that tall, burly figure across from her. “I am very brave.”

“I have a niece. She is very brave too,” Duncan said, looking at the old man. “This child is…”

“She only wanted to visit the cemetery. She is an ordinary person who has nothing to do with the Church,” the old man said at once. Now that he realized Annie really had not been affected, he relaxed a little. “I was just trying to persuade this child to go back. The weather is dreadful today.”

“It is easy to slip on snowy days,” Duncan nodded. He looked at the little girl and asked casually: “What is your name? How old are you?”

The Old Caretaker’s heart tightened. He wanted to warn Annie, who had never come into contact with supernatural powers, not to speak. After all, giving one’s name to a high-ranking supernatural being of unknown origin was very dangerous—

But he was a step too late.

“My name is Annie,” the girl said without much caution. “Annie Barbelli, I am twelve years old!”

The gate of the cemetery suddenly fell silent.

Duncan quietly watched the young lady who was poking her head out from behind the Old Caretaker. His gaze fell on her eyes, and on the faint resemblance in her brows and features to Captain Cristo Barbelli.

He had only asked a casual question, yet he had not expected… such a coincidence.

The crunch of footsteps on snow came from the side. Alice looked in surprise at the young lady who had called herself “Annie Barbelli”, then turned her head toward Duncan: “Ah, I remember the surname Barbelli. Wasn’t that…”

Duncan slowly bent down until his gaze was level with the girl’s. He tried to make his tone as gentle as possible: “Your surname is Barbelli?”

Perhaps because the mood had suddenly changed, Annie looked a little nervous. She shrank back behind the Old Caretaker: “Y-yes.”

“What is your relationship with Captain Cristo Barbelli?”

“He is… my dad.” Annie spoke in a low voice. Then she grabbed the Old Caretaker’s clothes without thinking and looked up at him, as if seeking help.

But the old man did not react. He only looked stunned, as if something had occurred to him. With an expression of disbelief, he looked at Duncan, then looked in alarm and doubt at the young woman with the veil and golden hair falling over her shoulders.

“You are Captain Cristo’s daughter—and you and your mother live on Hearth Street?” Duncan asked the young lady again.

Annie nodded in a hurry, then seemed to react: “You… know my dad?”

“…I have met him, though we are not very close,” Duncan said softly. “He asked me to look in on you and your mother. I have not yet had time to visit you, and I did not expect to meet you here.”

Annie’s eyes widened in shock.

The Old Caretaker was just as surprised.

“My dad…” Annie opened her mouth but could not think what to say for a long time. After struggling for quite a while to find her words, she finally asked in a small voice: “He really is dead… right?”

Duncan nodded gently.

“Th-then… will he still be sent here?” Annie hurriedly asked again. “The lords say that those who believe in the God of Death will have their souls return to Bartok’s cemetery after they die, and then be led to that great gate. Grandpa Caretaker told me this cemetery is…”

As Annie spoke, her voice slowly grew quieter.

In truth, she had stopped believing those words the old man had told her long ago.

She was already twelve years old.

Duncan suddenly reached out and rubbed Annie’s head. A few unmelted snowflakes fell from her thick wool hat and mixed into the snow on the ground.

“Captain Cristo was an outstanding man, truly outstanding—he has already reached Bartok’s realm and is resting there now.”

Annie lifted her head and blinked.

She still did not really understand what Duncan’s words meant. She did not even understand what kind of being this tall, burly figure in front of her was.

But the cemetery’s Warden beside her reacted at once.

The old man suddenly pressed down on Annie’s shoulder to keep the child from speaking further. Then he raised his head and met Duncan’s gaze: “What you said… is that really what happened?”

“…I believe so,” Duncan said after thinking for a moment. He did not truly know what that so-called gate of the Death God Bartok was, nor did he know exactly what humans experienced after death. But in front of a child, he knew what he should say—and it was also what he sincerely hoped was true. “I personally saw him off.”

The Old Caretaker’s pupils shrank slightly, but he quickly hid the change in his expression.

“I should be going as well,” Duncan said. He glanced at Annie, who still did not quite understand what was happening, then looked at the cemetery’s Warden. “I still have many things I would like to say, but there is much I must do. We can meet again when there is a chance.

“Also, do not forget that letter.”

The Old Caretaker blinked. Before he could speak, the eerie green flame before his eyes flared once and vanished.